L-SPARK fall cohort features seven SaaS startups

Ottawa-based SaaS accelerator L-SPARK has announced a new cohort of startups. After a three-week long bootcamp, seven startups have been selected for a place in the accelerator. The companies selected will receive one-on-one mentorship with software veterans, access to SaaS workshops, and will work from L-SPARK’s office space for the next nine months.

“With the support of our mentors and business development team, these seven companies will be on their way to increasing revenues 10x and becoming global leaders in today’s SaaS industry,” said Leo Lax, L-SPARK’s executive managing director.

The seven companies selected for the Fall cohort are:

iamsick.ca, a web and mobile app for a healthcare engagement platform, which was designed to help patients find healthcare services, book appointments online, see wait-times, and send prescriptions.

Heyday, an AI-powered customer experience chatbot that adapts its personality, tone and manner in real-time based on the customer’s preferences and personal data.

Cybeats, software that provides an immune system for IoT devices and allows devices to detect threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize them.

PropertySpark, a platform that helps Realtors advertise and publish content on social media with an audience of more than 300,00 people.

EnergyX, an energy management tech company working to disrupt and replace traditional energy audits via an online energy audit and marketplace platform.

Eyesover, a platform that uses AI to discover the new keywords that are being used in discussions online.

L-SPARK launched its first cohort in January 2015 and has supported a total of 36 companies from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and the Maritimes. The selection committee included 24 corporate and venture capital firms, including Lucas Matheson of Shopify, Narbe Alexandrian of OMERS Ventures, and Alex Katz of ff Venture Capital.

“Ottawa has always been known as a hub for outstanding tech talent and SaaS startups,” said Alexandrian. “It was a pleasure to attend L-SPARK’s fall cohort event and meet with the next generation of SaaS startups within the region.”

Aeman Ansari is a freelance writer who has been published in many Toronto-based publications, including Hazlitt and Torontoist. When she’s not re-watching Hitchcock movies, she’s working on her collection of short fiction inspired by stories from her grandmother, one of the few women in India to receive post-secondary education in English literature at the time.